FEAST: Tone down the protein

Feb. 27, 2013

Written by

Kate Justen, WNC Parent columnist

Protein is a very important part of our daily diet  it helps build and repair body tissue, regulates body processes, helps to resist diseases and produces stamina and energy. When you hear the word protein most people think of meat  poultry, beef, seafood or pork. Protein is also found in dairy products, many grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, broccoli and dark leafy greens.

The USDA recommends that the average person get 5.5 ounces of protein in a day. So how much is that? Think of 1 ounce of protein as one egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or one-quarter of cup cooked beans or peas. There are 16 ounces in a pound, so thats just more than a quarter pound.

Excess protein is stored as fat, so continually getting more than your body needs and uses can be a reason for weight gain. If you were raised on the idea that meat is the main part of the meal it can be hard to make the change to only have 5.5 ounces per day. Chicken, beef, pork and seafood can be a costly part of you grocery bill every month as well, so reducing the amount you use per meal can be healthier to you and your budget.

When we first started FEAST classes, students always asked if we had meat for our recipes. Since we get most of our food donated, we rarely have meat to add to what we were making. On the rare occasions that we would have meat, it was not very much, maybe a pound for 20-25 students. To make sure everyone feels they have an equal share, we shred or crumble meat into small pieces, slice it into thin strips and sprinkle it over the top of the meal. The flavor is still there but many times we were using about one-quarter of the recommended amount from most recipes.

There are also foods that fall into the category of meat  they do come from an animal  but do not have a lot of protein or nutritional value. A couple of very well liked examples of these are bacon and pepperoni. These foods are hard to fit into the philosophy of FEAST: They are not fresh, easy, affordable, sustainable and ... oh wait the T stands for tasty. OK, they do fit. So in the case of bacon and pepperoni we work on using them as a seasoning. Next time you make bacon and eggs, try making homemade bacon bits and sprinkle them on your eggs. You will still get full flavor with half the fat.